Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark"
<paul.roark@v...> wrote:
snip...
> One reason I prefer to put my value-added on top of the Epson driver
is that
> I believe Epson does an outstanding job of partitioning its inks.

I have no idea what "value-added" is. However, as you say the driver
does an excellent job of partitioning ITS inks. Though I'm sure this
can be utilized for our purposes, I've also worked with inksets not
perfectly designed for it, therefore impossible to perfectly linearize
since they relied on some of the driver's partitioning.

> I believe Jon Cone's ICC system is also using the Epson driver.

Yes, as I said earlier in the thread.

> >Since [the Epson driver] works with RGB input,
> >everything must be done with RGB curves.
>
> Yes, and I find this rather convenient, open, flexible, and, of
course,
> cheap.  With the newest inksets, because I've made inksets that
basically
> follow Epson's lead, the Epson driver does most of the heavy lifting
with
> respect to partitioning.  In fact, the inks can be printed with no
curves at
> all.  Writing curves for the newest inksets is much easier than it
used to
> be.
>
> >There isn't a straight through path from the file to the
> >specific inks, ...
>
> Being able to print with no curves and no special software seems
like a very
> direct path.

That's not what I meant. With respect to what you say above though, it
applies to that inkset only.

snip
>...With a dedicated B&W inkset, including both
> monotone and variable-tone approaches, I think the Epson driver can
deliver
> excellent results.

Also as I said earlier in the thread. Within the context of this
thread which discussed various inkset approaches and drivers, I said
the Epson driver can be used well, but is not well suited to the task.
In the next breath I said if you have curves available for them they
are in luck.
Then I was asked more specifically what shortcomings the Epson driver
may have for some of this work, hence my comments.
I have no personal interest in whether people choose to work with the
Epson driver or not. I began working with if for B&W work beginning in
early 1999, with all kinds of inksets, on many Epson models. I've made
RGB curves for everything from many different MIS sets, Lyson quads,
several Cone iterations. I'm fully aware of what can and can't be done
with it. Also heavily involved in color, I can say
without reservation that most agree the driver is even ill suited for
it's intended use- color.
After working with drivers that impose no limitations, require no
work-arounds, and let me do whatever I want with any inkset I want, my
preference moves there.

However I make no particular recommendations based on those
preferences, and fully acknowledged solutions using the Epson driver
including yours and Cone's.
Tyler